The iSiM and eSIM-based offers are for operators and enterprises in the 5G era – and on show at MWC22
Nokia announced two new Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) services for security and analytics, that will launch later this year.
The Finnish vendor says this is part of its strategy to give operators and enterprises a more flexible, cheaper way to serve customers, and to operate and monetise networks as 5G services are rolled out.
The new services shift operators and enterprises onto an Agile model based on software paid for by subscription and consumed on demand rather than running customised software on expensive, complex and on-premise infrastructure.
iSIM Secure Connect gives control to automate the eSIM and iSIM management process and could help monetise services linked to trusted digital identities.
Through a SaaS delivery model, Nokia’s iSIM Secure Connect enables operators and enterprises to manage machine-to-machine and consumer device subscriptions for eSIM- and iSIM-enabled devices.
Operators have so far been slow to embrace eSIM, as Kate O’Flaherty explores in this blog and it looks possible that iSIM will eclipse eSIM before it fulfils its potential, as Nick Booth explains here.
Closed-loop automation
As the complexity of 5G networks increases the need for advanced analytics, Nokia is strengthening its AVA offering with new SaaS capabilities based on Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF), which is part of 5G Standalone’s architecture.
Nokia’s AVA NWDAF is intended to improve network operations using AI/ML driven closed-loop automation for better customer experience and to drive new sources of revenue.
The vendor claims that with its distributed architecture and open APIs, AVA NWDAF helps CSPs to: provide analytics at the network edge; implement analytics services defined by 3GPP; and create partnerships with software developers.
AVA NWDAF will be commercially available in a SaaS delivery model later this quarter.
Nokia’s iSIM Secure Connect is expected to be available as SaaS later this year and will still be offered to customers in other deployment models.
Nokia said its SaaS-based NetGuard Cybersecurity Dome and Nokia Anomaly Detection, both announced in November 2021, will be available later this quarter.
Nokia plans to introduce other new SaaS services for core, digital operations, monetisation and private wireless this year and into 2023 and deliver capabilities through open source APIs “that are operable across many hyperscale platforms”.
The aim is to “create a multi-vendor SaaS delivery framework that makes the most of Nokia’s partnerships with leading cloud providers and its ongoing investments in cloud-native software and other technologies.”